NEW YORK, Aug 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Despite two deadly shootings at its
stores in less than a week, American retail giant Walmart has no plans to
stop selling guns and ammunition, a spokesman said Sunday.
A man opened fire with an assault rifle at a Walmart in Texas on Saturday,
killing 20 people, just four days after a disgruntled employee shot dead two
coworkers and wounded a responding police officer at one of the massive
chain’s stores in Mississippi.
“We are focused on supporting our associates, our customers and the entire
El Paso community,” spokesman Randy Hargrove said.
Following the El Paso shooting, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon posted a note on
Instagram saying he “can’t believe” it was the second such in a week. “My
heart aches for the community in El Paso, especially the associates and
customers at store 2201 and the families of the victims,” he wrote.
“I’m praying for them and I hope you will join me.”
Walmart founder Sam Walton loved guns — so much so that the American gun
manufacturer Remington named a hunting rifle model after him. But the retail
giant maintains that its target audience is sport shooters and hunters.
Walmart has made gun policy changes over the years, such as in 1993, when
it stopped selling handguns.
The company stopped selling semi-automatic rifles in 2015, and after the
Parkland, Florida shooting in February 2018 — which saw 17 people killed at
a high school — Walmart raised the minimum age to buy guns and ammunition in
its stores to 21.
Additionally, “Walmart goes beyond federal law requiring all customers to
pass a background check before purchasing any firearm,” said Hargrove.
He also noted that all new Walmart employees are required to complete an
active shooter training program, which they then must pass on a computer four
times a year.
But since it is the largest retail chain in the United States, Walmart
continues to attract criticism for its enduring stock of firearms.
When the company tweeted it was “in shock” after the tragedy in El Paso,
many Twitter users replied: “Stop selling guns.”